What do you mean by True Heir?

It was just another ordinary, peaceful day in the Agarish Kingdom. Now that spring had arrived, the weather was being kind to everyone as they went about their everyday lives. Busy people were moving all around the Royal Palace, creating a commotion.

'Another lovely day where I'm being worked to death. My father needs to let my siblings do something, too.'

The Crown Prince, Carlos Nightshade, was looking out of his office window and trying to ignore the pile of paperwork in front of him. Then suddenly, one of his aides rushed to his office without even knocking on the door. 

Finding something better than staring outside the window, the Crown Prince immediately went after him, "Mark, where are your manners?" 

His voice held no anger or even irritation; at most, he was simply saying it for the teasing. But Mark's call made him pause his playful antics. 

"Your highness, it's something important!"

Just then he also realized how his aide, Mark, had been sweating and gasping for air. From his appearance alone, the Crown Prince was able to grasp the severity of the situation. 

"Did you rush here? What's so important that you had to rush all the way here?"

"The Maximilian family… found its true heir!"

"True heir?"

Carlos, who was bored to death, finally heard something that piqued his interest and promised him great entertainment for the future.

"Tell me everything, now."

➳༻❀✿❀༺➳

"I'm kinda uncomfortable." Avian Maximilian, the eldest 'son' of the Maximilian Duchy, mumbled as 'he' was resting between two beauties.

"Why?" purred one of them, to 'his' amusement. The other one was clearly drunk; her flushed face was resting on 'his' shoulder as the three of them continued to drink and laugh. 

Avian had to stop 'himself' from saying, 'Because you are getting so damn close, and that's making me uncomfortable.'

Avian Maximilian was one of the most fortunate people in the whole Agarish Kingdom. Wealth, luxury, status, and everything anyone could ask for. 

The only problem that stood between 'him' and that all was 'his' gender. 

'Women are absolutely not my type. Yet I'm mostly stuck with them because of this foolish game.'

Avian was born a girl; she did not enjoy women's company as a man. Nineteen years ago, the Duke gave the Duchess a choice of whether she would like to have another child or not after finding out that his awaited heir was a girl. 

To Avian's dismay, the Duchess' health was declining, so she took the easy route for her. She decided to raise her little baby as a man regardless of the baby's gender, which threw Avian into her current situation.

Avian was raised as a boy in spite of her own choices. 

She sighed heavily while leaning back to the sofa. 'I wish today was men's day; at least I would be able to enjoy a kiss or two.'

Alas, poor Avian was stuck with women to entertain for now. And she could not refuse that. To get permission to mess around with men despite her disguise, the Duke made a rule of men's day and women's day. 

One day she could mess with men, but the next day she must go out with a few women. Thus, Avian's avid, unique appetite spread across the nation. She was known as the true Prince Charming of the High Society. 

That evening, she was forced to accompany two ladies from the Nobles of the Central Region. Usually, she would make sure to accompany them thoroughly since she could never go all the way with them for obvious reasons, but she could not ignore how uncomfortable she felt this time. 

'I feel like something bad is going to happen soon.'

Her chest felt tighter the more time passed, and Avian could only struggle with it. She wondered why she was feeling such a strong foreboding feeling.

Ironically, the door was soon slammed open to answer all of her wonders. 

"What the heck? How dare you–"

She wanted to scold whoever dared to do that, but was shocked speechless by the response she got. Swiftly, the person was in front of her. His cold hand cupping her cheek as he pressed himself close to her, his grayish hair slightly covering his facial features, "Haallo~ I am Zenith Maximilian."

"What."

"Huh???"

"Excuse me–?"

Avian was not the only one that was shocked by that outrageous claim; the two women next to her stared wide-eyed at the playful, handsome devil in front of them. 

The devil smiled: 

"Name is Zenith, and unfortunately, I think I'm the reason you will no longer be able to live the same life as ever." 

The atmosphere somehow changed after that announcement. The two women backed away, realizing that whatever was about to happen was none of their business. Meanwhile, the devilish male only smiled wider as his pink irises met with Avian's.

His hand slowly moved, tenderly caressing her cheek. "But don't worry… I'm sure someone may pity you, darling."

Repulsed by the way Zenith suddenly called her darling while touching her, Avian pushed him off and ran out of the room with her face completely flushed, "Guards! Come take this lunatic out of here!"

Despite her anger, however, no one listened. No one moved an inch even when she called them by their names, respectively. 

"Guards! Maxi?! Abraham?? Steven!?"

Collectively lowering their heads in shame, the guards were blissfully unaware about how their Liege's eyes dimmed and how her lips trembled. She forced herself to not show any weakness and asked again.

"What are you doing?"

Rolling his eyes at her, Zenith approached her and threw his arm over her shoulder. "Heh. They are simply listening to their master; who happens to be me now, unfortunate, unfortunate!"

Somehow, Zenith had managed to make Avian even more repulsed. Without much hesitation, the woman, who was now taking the disguise of a man, kicked Zenith's knee and backed a few steps away. 

'Disgusting,' she noted internally, 'too disgusting, impossible to digest. What is this attitude? Who gave this attitude to him?'

This guy she had just met made her feel absolutely terrible. The most annoying thing about him was the fact that he never shut up. 

"You don't get it, do you? I am the real Heir, little Avi. Those guards will all protect me, not you. Do you get it now? Why are you even running away?"

"You are outrageously disgusting."

"Nothing outrageous; you are just unable to process it," the devilishly handsome young man cooed, clearly amused. Then he offered something Avian had never expected, especially in such a situation, "But for a cutie like you, I'm not throwing you away immediately. You look gorgeous, and I've heard about your amazing appetite. Wanna have a shot with me?"

She wanted to simply throw up.